National Endowment for the Humanities
Tales of the Supernatural
Scary stuff! Whether approached as the first horror story or a "serious imaginative exploration of the human condition," Frankenstein continues to engage readers. Here's a packet of activities that uses Mary Shelley's gothic...
Curated OER
A Fairy Tale: Italian Folklore
Young scholars work in groups to write an original fairy tale in Italian. They research the components of a fairy tale, compare and contrast fairy tales with myths and follow an outline to write a complete, 15-20 page fairy tale.
Curated OER
Tales of the Supernatural
High schoolers explore the origins and development of a literary genre. They investigate how shared imaginative concerns link the members of a literary period and compare works of literature from different eras.
Curated OER
Tell Me a Whopper!
Sixth graders investigate tall tales as a literary genre. They listen to a number of tall tales to discover how exaggeration is used as a story element. They write and publish a tall tale using word processing software. They illustrate...
Curated OER
Myths, Folktales & Fairy Tales
Students relate the myth genre to history and culture. In this myths lesson plan, students compare culture in the past and present. Students answer critical thinking questions and discuss the unique characteristics of...
Curated OER
The Lore o' the Irish
Students examine the importance of folklore in Ireland and how that folklore reflects Irish culture. They first interpret various Irish folk tales, focusing on what about Irish culture can be better understood from these stories.
Curated OER
Helpful Animals and Compassionate Humans in Folklore
Learners define elements of stories from around the world that include helpful animals. They explore animal character motivations and use graphic organizers to compare and contrast animal stories from different cultures.
Cleveland Museum of Art
Japanese Folktales (Asian Odyssey)
The Cleveland Museum of Art presents this interdisciplinary model unit that asks class members to explore how the same themes are presented in the folktales and art of several cultures.
Curated OER
Writing Myths I
Explain a natural phenomenon in an original myth. After researching the phenomenon they have chosen, young readers use factual information to include in their myth. They find synonyms and new phrases to create vivid images as they...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Vengeful Verbs in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”
It's time for pupils to read, examine, and contemplate literature to explore the difference between vivid and generic verbs. Pupils distinguish between the two types of verbs as they read the ghost scene from Shakespeare's Hamlet. They...
Curated OER
Literature: Isabel Allende
Students watch and respond to a Bill Moyers Now video on the Chilean author, Isabel Allende. They brainstorm a list of recent events that might inspire writers and choose one to write about in poetic, diary, or short story form.
Curated OER
Poet Naomi Shihab Nye
Students read and analyze poetry by Naomi Shihab Nye. They define stereotypes, view and discuss a video interview with Nye, present an oral reading of a poem, and write a persuasive letter to an author.
Curated OER
Tennessee Williams: Exploring the American Dream
Students read and analyze selections of Tennessee Williams' work. They write journal responses, conduct Internet research, perform various scenes from one of Williams' dramas, and create a presentation.
Curated OER
Aztec Myths 1
Students write a diary entry or a letter from the viewpoint of a character in a myth. For this Aztec myths lesson, students define myths and read "The Heart of Copil" and "The Eagle of Tenochtitlan" and find the land of the...
Curated OER
911 As History
Middle schoolers recognize persuasive techniques, think criticaly about the messages contained in various media, and discuss controversial issues in constructive ways. They analyze the deeper messages contained in children's literature,...
Curated OER
How does it feel? Why is the Civil Rights Movement so Important?
Fifth graders study the Civil War. In this US history activity, 5th graders simulate what life was like during the Civil War by having two groups with one group given more materials than the other group. Students then draw a...
Curated OER
Reporting Live From...
Students examine the many disasters in West Virginia. In this US history lesson, students write about and give an oral presentation of one of the disasters as if they were reporters.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement:tales of the Supernatural
Lesson explores the genre of Gothic literature. Includes discussion of Frankenstein, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allen Poe among others.